Turkish Troops Enter Iraq to Fight Kurds
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ISTANBUL, Turkey — About 10,000 Turkish troops have crossed into northern Iraq and are preparing to battle Kurdish rebels, officials and reports said Saturday.
The troops were stationed near the city of Sulaymaniyah, more than 100 miles into Iraqi territory, Turkey’s daily Hurriyet said.
Hurriyet and Belgium-based Kurdish Medya TV said the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK, which controls the area around Sulaymaniyah, had asked Turkey to send troops to help fight Kurdish rebels in the region.
Northern Iraq has been outside Baghdad’s control since the 1991 Persian Gulf War and is run by two rival Iraqi Kurdish factions.
Officials in southeastern Turkey confirmed that Turkish troops had crossed into Iraqi territory.
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